BasilRathbon Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 Why is there an increasing number of people on this forum trying to prove their arguments by quoting articles from tabloid newspapers, chiefly the Daily Mail and The Sun? Do they believe this lends their argument some kind of credence, or that people will think "Oh, it's in the papers, it must be true"? Tabloid articles serve 3 purposes; to anger, to scare or to titillate. While every now and then a fact slips out the vast majority of the articles I've seen referred to on here are pure speculation; theories about what "could" or "might" happen, rather than what actually is happening. Don't get me wrong; I often read both the Mail & Sun myself, but appart from the football results, I take it all with a pinch of salt and view it purely as entertainment in the same way as I would a fictional TV drama. So are there really people around who believe what they read in the tabloids?
*Peaches* Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 When the stories of the skinny pigs came out, everyone believed every word and my inbox was filled with "I want one of those" without actually knowing anything about them, other than what the tabloids printed...
Zamo Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 Believing everything you read in the tabloids is as stupid as believing it's all lies and distortions.
Chopsie Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 I tend to go the other way - if it's in the Daily Mail I'll assume it's probably unsubstantiated b*ll*cks...
SimonS Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 I think when I was younger I probably believed them. But then I did a journalism course and realised how much spin is put into stories - so if I ever do read a magazine or newspaper I tend to take the whole thing with a pinch of salt. Even the news on tv.
Zamo Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 I think when I was younger I probably believed them. But then I did a journalism course and realised how much spin is put into stories - so if I ever do read a magazine or newspaper I tend to take the whole thing with a pinch of salt. Even the news on tv. A pinch of salt is sensible. But no salt, or too much, is a bad thing.
Chopsie Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest" - people believe what they read if it suits their purpose or concords with their beliefs. Newspapers don't report fact, they report opinions skewed to a specific political viewpoint - or lots of pointless features about 'celebrities' and their 'stunning bikini bodies'/'weight battles'/'secret heartache' etc etc blah blah.
SimonS Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 If I thought everything was completely lies I probably wouldn't bother ever reading the news or looking at newspapers. I think each story or article needs to be judged on it's own merits- but most of them have spin in them rather than only fact based information. Sometimes you can spot the total rubbish a mile off - like the front page of the Metro today. A story completely designed to enrage people whilst ignoring the facts or balancing the argument.
mr contrite Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 Why is there an increasing number of people on this forum trying to prove their arguments by quoting articles from tabloid newspapers, chiefly the Daily Mail and The Sun? Do they believe this lends their argument some kind of credence, or that people will think "Oh, it's in the papers, it must be true"? Tabloid articles serve 3 purposes; to anger, to scare or to titillate. While every now and then a fact slips out the vast majority of the articles I've seen referred to on here are pure speculation; theories about what "could" or "might" happen, rather than what actually is happening. Don't get me wrong; I often read both the Mail & Sun myself, but appart from the football results, I take it all with a pinch of salt and view it purely as entertainment in the same way as I would a fictional TV drama. So are there really people around who believe what they read in the tabloids? Do you have any stories in particular that you would care to link to, where you feel that it simply speculation? It would be interesting to see, and debate such news reports. Forums such as this are also a form of media, so surely your OP proves your own point
SleepyHead Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 Believing everything you read in the tabloids is as stupid as believing it's all lies and distortions. You're right. The football scores in tabloids are mostly true.
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